David Mwambari (Syracuse University)
Cracks of Memory: Ethical issues in narrating Trauma of Youth in Post Conflict African Countries
Over the last decade we have witnessed the transformation of a number of African societies from war to peace. From Sierra Leone and Liberia in the West to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Sudan in Eastern and Central Africa, youth have been involved as either victims or perpetrators of some of the worst human catastrophes humanity has come to know in the twenty-first century. Based on research I have conducted over the past five years on youth in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and Northern Uganda, this paper explores the ethical issues of pain and memory associated with personal post-conflict narratives. In an attempt to expand the limited literature, I look at two pieces, one of poetry and another of prose to discuss the difference between expressive and communicative discourses of the narratives of post-conflict African youth.
More about David's academic background can be found here.
